Reclining chairs



Dec. 22, 1959 F, SCHUEPHACKE 2,918,110

RECLINING CHAIRS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 27, 1957 INVENTOR F RIDTJOF F SCHLIEPHACKE ATTORNEY *2? Dec. 22, 1959 F. F. SCH'LIEPHACKE 2,918,110

RECLINING CHAIRS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 27. 1957 rill,

INVENTOR FRiDTJOF E SCHLIEPHACKE 8 ATTORNE;

United States Patent Q the RECLINING CHAIRS Fridtiof F. Schliephacke, Berlin-Schmargendorf, Germany, assignor to Anton Lorenz, Boynton Beach, Fla.

Application March 27, 1957, Serial No. 648,824

3 Claims. (Cl. 155-106) This invention relates to chairs and pertains particularly to reclining chairs having a leg rest which moves into position to support the legs as the chair moves into reclining position.

It is an object of the invention to provide a reclining chair of the type described which is extremely simple in construction and which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

A preferred embodiment of the invention selected for purposes of illustration is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a chair embodying the invention, one side frame of the chair being broken away, the chair being shown in upright position.

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the chair in reclining position.

Figure 3 is a perspective view, partly broken away.

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings, the chair comprises a base unit comprising two spaced side frames 1 and 2 which may be rigidly connected together in any suitable manner, as by the connecting frames 3, 3a. The side frames may be of any suitable construction, Wood or metal, and may be upholstered or not, as desired.

Located between the side frames 1 and 2 and supported thereon is a reclining seat unit comprising a seat 4 and backrest 5. The seat and backrest may be of any suitable construction, wood or metal, and may be upholstered or not, as-desired. As shown, the seat is of conventional upholstered construction having side frames 6 and 7 and connecting frame 8 supporting upholstered cushion 9. The side frames 6 and 7 extend parallel to the frames 1 and 2 but are spaced inwardly therefrom.

The rear portion of the seat unit is mounted on the side frames 1 and 2 for translational, reciprocating movement with respect thereto. Thus, in the embodiment illustrated, a pair of tracks 11 and 12 are rigidly mounted on the side frames 1 and 2 in position to engage the rollers 13 and 14 mounted on brackets 15 and 16 connected to seat frames 6 and 7. The tracks 11 and 12 are provided with abutments 17 at the front ends thereof to limit the forward movement of the seat unit. Rearward movement of the seat unit is limited by engagement of the rollers 13 and 14 with the frame 3a.

The leg rest 21 is also of any suitable construction, either upholstered or not, as desired. In the embodiment illustrated, the leg rest is upholstered and includes side frames 22, only one of which is shown, it being understood that in the following description of the means for mounting the leg rest for pivotal movement on the base and for connecting the leg rest to the seat unit, the parts shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 on one side of the chair are duplicated on the other side.

Thus, the leg rest is mounted for pivotal movement on the base by means of arms 23, each of which has one end rigidly connected to one of the leg rest side frames 2,918,110 Patented Dec. 22, 1959 22 and its other end pivotally connected to bolts 24 mounted in the side frames 1 and 2. The leg rest is also connected to the seat unit by means of links 25 which are pivotally connected to the side frames 22 of the leg rest by means of bolts 26 and to the side frames 6 and 7 of the seat by means of bolts 27. The bolts 26 and 27 are so located that the pivotal connections of the links 25 to the leg rest are in front of the fixed pivots 24 and the links 25 lie above the fixed pivots 24. Preferably said links 25 are relatively long and are pivotally connected to the seat frame at points some distance behind the fixed pivots 24.

The seat unit is also connected to the base unit by means of links 36 Said links are pivotally connected to the side frames 6 and 7 of the seat by bolts 31 on brackets 32 fastened to the frames, and are pivotally connected to the side frames 1 and 2 by bolts 33.

In the upright position of the chair, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 3, the leg rest is in its retracted position beneath the seat, and the forward end of the seat may be supported by brackets 34 mounted on the side frames 1 and 2 in position to engage the side frames 6 and 7 of the seat. In the upright position of the chair the leg rest is almost entirely concealed by the side frames 1 and 2 and the seat, and permits unobstructed access to and from the seat and when one is sitting down or arising from the seat. Whenever one sitting in the chair exerts backward pressure against the seat unit, as by pressing forwardly against the side frames 1 and 2, the seat unit will move backwardly on the tracks 11 and 12 to the position shown in Figure 2. In doing so, the backward movement of the seat unit, acting through the links 25 will cause the leg rest to swing to the position shown in Figure 2. In the embodiment illustrated the leg rest swings through an arc of about to bring the leg rest substantially to horizontal position. During the backward movement of the seat, the front portion is guided and supported by the links 30, which, at the end of their rearward movement, engage the abutments 17 which then serve to support the front end of the seat. If, now, when the chair is thus in reclining position, it is desired to resume upright position, it is only necessary to exert slight downward pressure on the leg rest, accompanied, if desired, by backward pressure against the side frames 1 and 2 to cause the seat to move forwardly, while at the same time the leg rest swings beneath the seat.

It will be understood that the invention may be variously modified and embodied within the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A reclining chair comprising a base unit having opposed, spaced side frames, a seat unit located between said side frames, means for mounting said seat unit on said base unit for translational movement with respect thereto, a leg rest located between said side frames and having an upper end adjacent the front end of said seat unit and a lower end below said seat unit, said leg rest being mounted between its ends on fixed pivots on said side frames, and means connecting said leg rest to said seat unit comprising an actuating link having one end pivotally connected directly to the upper end of said leg rest and the other end pivotally connected to said seat unit and movable with respect to said seat unit to cause said leg rest to swing on its fixed pivots as said seat unit moves with respect to said base unit.

2. A reclining chair as claimed in claim 1 in which the pivotal connection of said link to the upper end of said leg rest is in front of said fixed pivots when the chair is in upright position and said link lies above said fixed pivots.

3. A reclining chair as claimed in claim 1 in which the pivotal connection of said link to the upper end of saidleg rest is. in fromv at said fixed. piilots and tin pin. otal connection of said linig to said seat unit is behind said fixe d pivots.

RgfueucesCimd in the. filc of this patent UNITE!) STATES PATENI 4 St-reit July 12, 1898 fi n fik 11 921, 124,9 Belisle Dec. 22, 1953 Fox L Aug. 17, 1954 Krakauer Feb. 26, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany May 27, 1940 Fr a nce Mar. 14, 1932 

